Natus Vincere’s playoff losses and Europe’s dominance at tournaments — highlights from the We Say Things 293 podcast
Commentators Troels “syndereN” Nielsen Lingholt and Shannon “SUNSfan” Scott discussed Natus Vincere’s performance at DreamLeague Season 29, changes to PARIVISION’s support hero pool, and the dominance of the European region on the We Say Things podcast, as well as sharing their predictions for BLAST Slam VII. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights in our article.
On Natus Vincere’s main issue at DreamLeague Season 29
Troels called Natus Vincere’s performance a terrible disappointment, noting that the team starts the group stage strongly but is immediately eliminated in the playoffs. SUNSfan added: the higher the stakes, the worse the team plays. As an example, the commentators recalled the early BetBoom Team rosters featuring gpk and Nightfall, which also struggled on the big stage but managed to overcome that inconsistency. According to the casters, the main challenge for NAVI right now is learning how to win high-pressure matches.
On 9Class’s changed hero pool
Shannon drew attention to PARIVISION’s drafts, noting that 9Class had stopped picking unconventional heroes and switched to completely standard supports, joking that Puppey had “had enough of his eccentricities.” syndereN attributed this to the removal of aspects and changes to innate abilities in Patch 7.41. For example, Slark’s Barracuda passive no longer provides as much early regeneration in the fog of war, which has stripped heroes of the flexibility and subtle nuances that allowed them to be played in the support role.
On Europe’s dominance in tournaments
Both casters agreed that the constant presence of only European teams in the top 3 is harmful to the competitive scene and turns the playoffs into a series of rematches. Highly skilled players are concentrated within Europe, and it is extremely difficult for clubs from Southeast Asia or China to attract international talent, partly due to the language barrier. syndereN named China as the only region capable of competing, but local top teams lack consistency and, perhaps, the “hunger” for victory.
Predictions for BLAST Slam VII
As part of their predictions for BLAST Slam VII, the commentators named their top three favorites: for syndereN, these are Team Spirit, Team Falcons, and BetBoom Team, while for SUNSfan, they are Aurora Gaming, PARIVISION, and Team Falcons. Xtreme Gaming and Team Yandex were highlighted as the main dark horses, while PARIVISION and Team Liquid were identified as the “white donkeys.”
Read also:
- syndereN on European dominance: “It would be much better for the game if other regions competed more fiercely” (first part of the podcast).
- syndereN: “We were hoping for OG; they had great results at the start, but now things have kind of quieted down” (second part of the podcast).
Photo by Shannon “SUNSfan” Scott.
